


The White Swan

by Mareel



Series: Without Change [3]
Category: Star Trek: Enterprise
Genre: Alternate Universe, Established Relationship, Family, Future Fic, M/M, Romance, Sailing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-23
Updated: 2013-05-23
Packaged: 2017-12-12 17:59:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/814386
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mareel/pseuds/Mareel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What's in a name?</p>
            </blockquote>





	The White Swan

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place approximately twenty years after the launch of the NX-01. It is in canon with [Without Change](http://www.reocities.com/bdebpr/WithoutChange4.html) (which was written midway through the second season of _Enterprise_ , and is AU to parts of later canon) and [Unchanged](http://archiveofourown.org/works/814409). It is Malcolm's voice.

 

“I don’t think you ever told me how the _Eala Bhan_ got her name.”

We’ve been waiting out a storm system, berthed in the harbor at Stornaway. Jonathan suggested, and he’s right, that since this is our holiday there’s no need to spend it soaking wet and trying to keep the boat on course. The pub food – a fragrant chicken curry – was good, the Guinness was excellent, and we’re curled up under a blanket on the bunk in the main cabin. 

“I asked my grandmother about it once. I was in my mid-teens and curious. I said I knew that it meant ‘white swan’ in Gaelic, but had no idea why anyone would name a sea-going sailboat for a bird associated more with the lake country. She told me it was named for her, by her husband.”

“Your grandfather?” 

“Yes, though I never knew him. He died when my mother was still a girl, of some tropical fever. He was a commander in the Royal Navy and must have loved my grandmother dearly. He wrote to her often and spent as much time at home as he could.”

“And he liked to sail when he was back home, it seems.”

I nod, gesturing around the cabin. “He bought this boat for her, hoping they’d have a chance to sail together when he retired. He never got to do that, but my gran loved the boat and would never hear of selling her.

“I remember having to prod her about the name – she’d get lost in her own thoughts sometimes. Finally she told me ‘There’s a Gaelic song about a soldier serving in a distant war. The girl he loved had the same name as me – Maggie MacLeod.’ She paused for a long time and I wasn’t sure she was going to tell me more, but she finally continued. ‘Michael was the only person who ever called me Maggie… I was always Margaret to everyone else. The man in the song called her his white swan, so there you have it – _Eala Bhan_.’”

Jonathan pulls me close for a long kiss, murmuring, “It sounds like they loved each other very much.” 

Resting my head on his shoulder, I nod agreement. “She talked more about him to me after that. It’s almost like she hadn’t had anyone to share her stories with, about their life together. She was still young when she lost him… but never found anyone else.”

“Maybe that’s part of why she loved sailing this boat so much, Malcolm. It was a part of their life together that she could hold onto. And I remember you telling me how she wanted you to have it when she passed on.”

I look up into Jonathan’s eyes. “I shouldn’t have been surprised at that. The last time I saw her, she said something to me that I’ve never forgotten. ‘I hope you find your own great love. It changes your life.’ No one else had ever talked to me about love.” Touching his cheek with my fingertips, my voice drops to a whisper. 

“She was right.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> The song referred to is _An Eala Bhàn_ , written by Dòmhnall Ruadh Chorùna and recorded by Mairi MacInnes and by Capercaillie, among others.


End file.
